Gyroscopic pendulum



Dec. 6, 1927.

E. A. SPERRY GYROSCOPIC PENDULUM Filed March 17, 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 vwcmtoz Deck. 6,1927.-

' E. A. SPERRY GYROSCOPIC PENDULUI I Filed Malrch 17. 1925 s Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIII/III/II wuemto'a Dec. 6, 1927.

E. A. SPERRY GYROSCOPIC PENDULUM Filed Mardh 17, 1925 '5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I anvqhto'c. a $2010? fl-SP RX Patented Dec. c.1927.

UNITED srarss rarest oer-res.

ELMEB. A. srnnnr; or snooxri'rn, NEW vonx, .assreuon TO THE srnunr emo- SCOPE COMPANY, 01 BROOKLYN, NEW

YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

evaoscorrc rnienunonr.

Application filed March 17, 1928. Serial No. 625,831.

This invention relates to gyroscopes and more, particularly to gyroscopic pendulums adapted to be; mounted on movable craft such as aircraft. Such gyroscopes may be variously employed, as -'for controlling a .level indicator, banking indicator, base-line for automatic pilots, stabilizers, etc.

It is an ob ect of this invention to provide an improved means for damping or suppressing the oscillations of said pendulum, so that a correcting torque 1s immediatel applied'which is proportional tothe .disturhing force tending to cause a tilt.

A furtherpbject is the provision of damp ing means capable of being actuated by air,

and of novel means for supplying .thenecessa air and suitably controlling the same.

Xfurthenobjectis the provision of means whereby the travel of the craft through the air furnishesthe air supply for operating said damping mechanism and also preferabl the gyro-rotor as well.

1 further object is the provision of an air sup ly for said rotor and said damping mec anism which will deliver 811 under pressure.

Other objects and advantages of this inv vention will be in (part obvious and in part specifically referre to in the specification.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig, 1 is a front elevation-of a device for utilizing the movement of a craft through the air to supply air under pressure.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the device shown'in- Fig.1.

- Fig.3 is a detail showin the gearing for operating an air pum in te Fig. 1 device. Fig. 4 is a vertica section through said PmeP- Flg. 5 1s a-vertlcal section through a gyroscope embodying certain features of my 1n,- vention. I

Fig. 6 is a plan, .with moved, of the gyroscope shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical\ section through a portion of a modified form of gyrosco c.

Fig, 8 is a-vertical section th'roug a por: tion of a third form of gyroscope. Fig. 9 is a plan view of a fan emplo ed in the Fig. 8 device to supply air to the g amp View of the damping de- Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings, there is shown a device for utilizing the movement of a craft through the air to create a supply of. air under pressure. The device comprises a casing 10 having preferably a stream-line contour and adapted to be applied to the moving craft. lrVhen applied to the aircraft, it is mounted upon one of the exposed struts of' the machine. The cas ing comprises arear conduit section 11, a pump section 12, and a rotatable driving or propeller section Within the pump section 12 is mounted'a ,ump 14 (see Fig. 4) which may be of the b ower type having interlocking bladesor gears 15, 16 within a casin 20 and rovided with an inlet 17 on the orward side .and an outlet 18 on the rearward side. The gears are fixed upon shafts 21 and 22' adapted to be driven from the driving section 13. Said section is PTO". Y

vided internall pump casin .14 and having a head 28 to hold said hu thereon again st outward movement. To the exterior of casing 13, arev fixed ropeller blades 29 adapted to be reltlatfid 6y the wind to rotate section 13 and The gears 21 and 22 aredriven from the' section 13 by a suitable gearing which may comprise a pinion 31 movable integrally are thus driven by the rotatable section 13.

To balance the gear drive, a 'gear 37 may be provided at the opposite end of shaft 21outside of the pump casingat the rear thereof,

certain parts re'-' .-'meshing with a'- gear 38 on the opposite end ofshaft22.

Passage of the craft through the air thus results'i'n operation of the pump. The air 100 is sup lied to the inlet. 17 as said pump throng an opening 45 in the nose of section 13 in the direction of travel of the craft. The air is driven by the pump through outlet'jlS under pressuresinto compartment 11 to thetrear t ereofflandthence into a con v with spokes 25 fixed to a' hub 26 mounts upon a shaft 27 fixed to the .105 conducts the air to the mechaf nisni which utilizes it. The section 11 may be provided with a'plurality of bafile plates- 'eign matter to the conduit 47. b In the present instance the air supplied 48 'to prevent passage of 011 and other for by the device is utilized for driving a gyroscope. Said gyroscope may comprise a casing 50' in which is mounted a rotor 51 fixed to a spindle 52 supported in suitable 1v larings 53'and 54. The lower bearing is s sported on a bracket or partition .55 d1- vi mg the casing into upper and lower sections, said partition having open1ngs, 56 therethroug'h, permitting ready communication between the sections Saidpartition is provided in its upper surface surrounding bearing. 54 with a reservoir 57 for lubricant, such' as oil, which is fed upwardly by a wick througha tube 58, thence into. a' trough 59 and into the space between the bearing an thejshaft 52. The gyroscope is pivotally. mounted by trunnionsfil in a gimbal 60 which is v in turn pivotally mountedbyitrunnions 62, atri ht angles to trunnions 61-, in standards 63.- e'rotor 51 isprovided with a-plurality' of buckets 65 in its periphery. For driv-c I ingjthe rotor the'air pumped from the device 10-may'be'utilized'. Forthispur se the conduit. 47 is connected to the stan arda 63 adjacent the trunnions 62. Said standards and t'runnions are provided with bores- 66 i and 67 which communicate with conduit47 .so that the ai'r delivered by the ump passes 3 'into the interior of the gimbalrmg 60 which is hollow. The interior of said ring is in communication witha bore 68 extending i'nt'ojtrunnionstl and from said bore into circular, vertically-positioned.reservoirs 69 which at points opposite the bucketsare pro vided with nozzles '70 directed against said buckets. v

. After imparting its momentum .to, the rotor, the air spills oi the buckets into the lower section of the Leasing by way of slits 71 cut in the lower part of the rotor,

where its discharge may be employed to actuate a mechanism for damping or preventing the oscillations of the gyroscope.

For this, purpose, there are symmetricallydisposed adjacent the lower'sides of the casing a plur'a ity of rows of exhaust ports or V nozzles 72. n the drawing's'each' row is shown as comprising nine ports, .each turned tangential to the casin arid tapered at its outer end to increase t e veassing out of the casing. 'A A 5 substantially 'locifly of air -pen ulum 75 is suspended from the bracket or partition by means of a universal suspension comprising a member 73 in which said pendulum is pivotedon a substantially horizontal axis, said member 73 -bemg m "tun pivoted on a horizontal axis at right was under side of the bracket. Said dulum 75. bein the following important-result isobtained T i. e., the number'of ports-uncovered (an ,rotated' by 'the' motor. .For 'a detai scription" of such construction, reierence should be had to the patent "of Mortimer F.

angles to said first axis in a'member 7'4 fixed menace dulum has its lower surface in. the form of 4 both the cas'in or gyroscopic pen ulum 50 y and the pendu um 75 are vertical withftheir vertical axes in. alignm ent. Thesame num ber of ports 72 in each'set isexposcd and the air issues from each set at the sam'e'rate and in the same quantity. The damping pena simple pendulum sus pended below t e axis. of suspension of the casing, has a very much shorter period than the oscope and will be, quickly dis place from the vertical position by the action of acceleration forces. 'Anymovem'ent of the short-periodpendulum relative to. the casing, however, will uncover more 8 rts of certain of said sets (those'furthest. m the vertical) than of the others, so that a greater quantity-of'air discharges throu h said first-sets and, causes; reaction on t e. casing in a direction which tends to prevent displacement of the casing from the vertical. By providing a relatively lar number of ports in each set positioned c ose together, I

hence the restoring force) will be ropor-'- tional 'to the disturbin "-or unba ancing force.v Thus, a' slight displacement of the short period pendulum, such as due'it'oa' small; acceleration I force, may result in uncovering only one or two ports of a particular set'or sets, with a correspondingly slight "restoring force on the gyroscope.

A large displacement of the short period pendulum due to a larger acceleration ,force will however, uncover five, six or evennine orts', as the case may be, with a correspon in increase in the restoring force being dev opioid by the air assing through the ports. e

direction 0 rotation of the gyroscope'is'so l3 arranged with res ct to the airjets, that the torque exerted y the jets tends to reduce the tilt or deviationffrom the vertical of, the gyroscoe due to-acceleration forces.

This amping means may be employed in cases where the rotor is spun by other means than air, as, for instance,fby a motor,-the

air being supplied through .anopening ifi the casing and; forced downwardly by grain,

e e-I Bates,.No. 1,518,892da'ted December 9,1924 Theoret ically.' the to. us exerted hyithe n jets 72,-woul be somewhat less in cardinal center Oof the' gyroscope as showri than the torque exerted by the lowermost jets, owing to the fact that the latter act f through a longer lever arm about the horizontal'axis of support of the gyroscope than the former. In order to equalize this torque as much asy-posible without causing the] parts to strike. the gimbalel prefer to posi-' I tion the jets f72 so that the axis from which they are struck coincides with the cardinal center of the gyroscopic pendulum 'instead'of coinciding with the pivot of pendulum 7541's does the curvature of the inte rior of the'bow-l, Preferably, also, the littlepipes constituting the jets emerge from the bowl in radial lines: struck from the said V bythe radial dotted..lines R;

.Forthis purpose t In a modified construction, the damping means of Fig.15 may supplied directly with airfromthe device 10 through the gimbal .ring' in addition to the air which spills I from the buckets, instead of relying solely upon the latter supply.- A greater. pressure can be built up by this method within the bowl of the casing in which the damping lpendulum 75 operates.

e gyroscope may be modified asshownfin- Ei .71 wherein the cir- 'cular, vertically-dispose reservoir 69 .isprovided not onlywi'th a .nozzleadjacent the buckets. of the rotor, but also with afsecond nozzle or orifice 80 nearits lowermost point formed to direct a portion of the air in said reservoir downwardly into the bowl. Apartition 81 separates the bowl from the upper portion of the casing in which therotor operates, the rotor-driving nozzle being posihoned-above the partition and the damping mechanism and supply nozzle being positioned below the partition. One or more openings 82 may be provided in the casing above partition 81-thro'ugh which the-air-dis-' charges after leaving the buckets.

- A. modification which can be constructed from the 'Figifflfi device is illustrated in 8. In this -foriri,"the-rotor is a'gain driven by air supplied from device 10 through the nozzle 0,:the airdischarging through open- 82. For, 0 crating the damper, however, a supply .0 air is drawn from the outside of the casing. For this purpose, there may be provided in the space between the bracket or partition 56 and the bottom of the .,rotor, an opening 85 to the exterior of the cas ng and one or more conduits oropening 86 extending through the partition '56 so that air may pass into opening 85 and then through conduit 86 to the bowls. For drawing air in through inlet 85 and sending it through conduit 86 at an increased speed,

- there may be provided a suction fan 90 fixed to the bottom of the rotor, so as to be rotatable therewith.- Said fan comprises an upper annular plate -'91 and a lower similar annular plate 92, each having a circular an annular. Venturi tube;

somewhat indentation in its surface so that a vertical cross section throu h each late will be substantially V-shape with t e apices of the .Vs Ytoward'each other and the inner arms of the We longer than the outer arms. In this manner, there is formed an annular contracted portion 93, thus forming in efi'ect The outer .periphery of the tube rides closely adjacent the mouth 94 of. the conduit 86, and this relative. positioning will always be maintained since the Venturi tube iscircular. In this manner any air entering conduit'86 must first :pass through the fan.

To cause the .fan to suck air continuously from the outside through inlet and force it into conduit 86, the venturi is supplied with a' plurality of symmetrically-disposed partitions 96 extending from the inner opening of the venturi toward the contracted portion (Fig. 9) and so inclined that with'a given direction of rotation of the fan the partitions 96 will sweep air toward the contracted portion and thence through said porportion of the venturi, thus greatly increasing the speed with which the air is delivered to conduit (or conduits) 86, and thence into the bowl to actuate the damping mechanism.

' In accordance withthe provisions of the patent statutes, I have herein described the principle of'operation of my invention, together with the apparatus, which I now consider to represent the best embodiment. thereof, but I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that theinvention can be carried out bv'othermeans. signedto use the various features and elementsin-the combination and relations described, some of these may be altered and others omitted without interfering with the more. general results outlined, and the invention extends to such use.

Having herein described my invention what I, claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent. is: I

11; In combination with a gy'roscopicpen dulum, of damping means therefor, com- Also, while it is deprising a casing on the gyroscope, means for creating a difierential air pressurethereas to, be partially covered by said pendulous deviee each group comprising a plurality of within, an auxiliary pendulous device sup-' ports placed successively further from the normal position of said pendulous device whereby the number of ports uncoveredflby said pendulous device is proportional to the forces tending to produce oscillation of the gyroscopic pendulum. v

' and means for damping the oscillations thereof, said means comprising a casing for said pendulum, said casing having a. plurality of laterally spaced groups of ports,

each group having a plurality of vertically spaced ports, means for supplying air to said ports,-a pendulum universally suspended in said casing and having means for covering and uncovering said ports, so that relative displacement of said pendulums uncovers in certain of said groups a number of ports proportional to the degree-of oscillation.

'4. In combination, a gyroscopic pendulum and means for damping the oscillations thereof,'said means comprising a casing for said pendulum, said'casing having more than two symmetrically arranged sets of ports, the ports of said sets being arrangedat an angle to the horizontal, means for supplying air vto said ports, a pendulum universally suspended in said casing and having means forcovering and uncovering said ports,- so that relative displacement of said pendulums uncovers in certain of said sets a number of ports proportional to the degree of oscillation. 1

5. In combination, a 'gyroscopic pendulum and means for damping the oscillations thereof, said means comprising a casing flir rality of sets of orts, metrically dis as said pendulum, said casing having more than two sets of ports, said sets being symmetrically disposed and arranged at an a le'to the horizontal, means for suppl ing ir' to said ports, a pendulum universal y 'suspended in said casing andhaving means for covering and uncovering said ports, so that relative displacement of sai covers in certain of said sets a number of 'ports proportional to the degree of oscillation.

6. In combination, a gyroscopic pendulum and means for' damping the osclllations thereof, said means comprising a casing for said casin having a plusaid said pendulum,

and

a luralit o is Y y vertical p anes, means-for supplying pendulums un- .amsm.

sets being symeach set comprising. ports arranged in substan.-.

tlOIl; 1

. 7. In combination, a gyroscopic pendulum and means for damping the oscillations thereof, said means comprising a casing forsald pendulum, said casing havin a plurality of sets of ports, said sets being symmetrically disposed and each set comprising a plurality of ports arranged in substantially vertical planes, means for supplying air to said ports, a pendulum universally suspendedin said casing and having means for normally covering certain of the ports of each set and uncovering the remaining {ports of each set, the number of ports nor-.

mally uncovered being the same in each set,

so that oscillation of' said secondpendulum uncovers in certain of said sets a number of said normallyfcovered ports proportional .to.

the degree ofoscillatio'n and covers aneq'ual number of normally uncovered ports in the other sets.

' '8'. In' combination, a 'gyroscopic pendulum and means for damping the oscillations thereof, said'means comprising a casing having a hemispherical lower section, sald section having a plurality of sets, of

ports, said sets being symmetrically disposed and arranged at' an-angle to the hori zontal, means for supplying air to said ports, a pendulum universally suspended at the center of said section and having means for covering and uncovering said ports, so that oscillation of said second pendulum causes a number of ports. proportional to the degree of oscillation to be uncovered in certain of said sets. 4 V l 9. In combination, a pivotall-y-mounted gyroscope comprising a' rotor adapted to be driven by air, an air-operated damping mechanism for said source ofair supply or operating said rotor and aid mechanism in series.

w 10. combination, a gyroscope pivotally' mounted upon a movable'craft and com'prising a rotor adapted .to be driven by air, an air-operated damping mechanismfor said gyrosco e, andmeanswhereby themovement 0 said craft-furnishes the air supply for operating said rotor and said nice 11. In combination, a pivotally-mounted yroscope and a singlegyroscope, comprising-a rot-or adapted to be drivenvb air, an-air-operated damping mechanism or said oscope, and a source of air supply for drivin said rotor, said mechanism bein operate by the air discharged from said rotor.

12. In combination, gyroscope comprising a rotor adapted to be a pivotallyrmounted' Y "driven by air, an air-operated -damping mechanism for said gyroscope, asource of air supply for driving said rotor and meansv whereby said mechanism is operated by the air discharged from said rotor.

'13. In combination, a pivotally-mounted gyroscope aving a casing and comprising a rotor adapted to be driven by air, an air-' operateddamping mechanism for said gyroscope, said casing having a plurality of openings forming part of said mechanism, a source of air supply for driving said rotor, said air passing through said openmgs to operate said mechanism after discharging from said rotor.

14. Incombination, a gyroscopepivotally ,mounted upon "a movable craft and come prising a rotor adapted to be driven by air,

an air-operated damping mechanism for said gyroscope, means whereby the movement of said craft furnishes the air supply for driving said rotor, and means whereby said mechanism is operated by the air discharged from said rotor.

15. In combination, a support, a hollow gimbal ring pivotally mounted in said support, a gyroscope'comprisin a rotor, a casing for said rotor pivotal y mounted in said ring, an air-operated damping mechanism for said gyroscope, means for supplying air to said rotor through said ring, .and 4 means whereby said mechanism is operated by the air discharged from said rotor.

16. In combination, a gyroscope pivotally of oscillation of said pendulum, said rality of-ports, means for supplying air to said ports, means for covering and uncovering said ports, and means whereby the number of ports uncovered by said lastnamed means is proportional to the degree orts having their axes substantially c'oincldent with the cardinal center of the-gyroscopic pendulum.

- 18. In combination with a gyroscopically controlled pendulum, a simple universally mounted pendulum, means brought into. ac-

tion by relative movement of the-two pendulums in ,any direction for bringing into, action a force counter-acting said movement, said means including means for varying the amount offorce brought into action in accordance with the relative degree of tilt through wideangles.

In testimony whereof I- have afiixed my signature. V

ELMER A. SPERRY. 

